The Beasley Bunch Part 2: Meet Our Lower Schoolers
At the heart of Beasley Lower School lies our diverse, vibrant, and thriving Junior Kindergarten through fourth-grade students. Each student experiences a world of discovery at MICDS, embracing their interests and trying new things as they grow. Meet just a few of our friendly Lower School faces to get to know our youngest learners and their experiences at our School.
Meet Evelyn M. ‘35
Evelyn joined MICDS in Junior Kindergarten.
ACADEMICS & INVOLVEMENTS:
What is your favorite subject in school and why?
Oo, that is tricky. I would say art or music because I can express myself. I also love reading and I love writing.
What are you involved in outside of academics?
I do a lot. On Mondays, I do theatre. On Wednesdays, I have violin and dance. On Thursdays, I have dance team. On Fridays, I have Chinese. And then, I also have violin group class, and I also have church, so I have a lot going on. My favorite is dancing. I do hip-hop. I also really like theatre because I get to sing, act, and dance.
What is your favorite time of day here?
I like social studies because we’re learning about the United States. I also really like recess because I can play with all my friends. I also like the subjects since I like to learn about different stuff.
What is the coolest project or assignment you’ve worked on this year?
Animal posters. I researched an arctic fox because I like foxes, they’re cute, and I wanted to know about arctic foxes. I learned a lot about them, and at the very end, we made a poster about everything we know about the animal.
STUDENT LIFE & CULTURE:
What’s it like to be a student in your class?
It’s fun because I love nature, and my teacher is Ms. Lloyd, Third Grade Homeroom Teacher, and she is in love with nature! It’s really fun! We get to do lots of work, which is nice, and in all of the classes, you have to do work. All of the teachers are nice, so you will get loved in each class.
Describe the MICDS community in just a few words.
It’s big with lots of friendships.
If a new student walked onto campus today, what is the most important thing you want them to know about MICDS?
Maybe the history. The history is pretty interesting to me, like about how the two schools merged together. Some schools don’t merge. It’s really cool to hear that the schools merged, and I go to that school!
How easy or difficult was it to make friends when you first started here?
In Junior Kindergarten, it was really easy. I was just walking around looking at my class, and I bumped into one of my best friends. I was like, “Hi, can I be your friend?” And we became friends. Sadly, we aren’t in the same class now, but I made friends in my own class.
Meet Ani V. ‘34
Ani joined MICDS in third grade.
ACADEMICS & INVOLVEMENTS:
What is your favorite subject in school and why?
My favorite subject is math because there are lots of different ways to do it, and it has lots of fun techniques and strategies. We just finished a test on area and perimeter. I feel like math makes me think, and I love it.
What are you involved in outside of academics?
Outside of school, I sometimes go swimming, and I do taekwondo. At MICDS, I do Math Club.
What is your favorite time of day here?
My favorite time of day is in the morning because I like to see all my friends and greet them.
What is the coolest project or assignment you’ve worked on this year?
The most exciting project I’ve worked on is actually now in CKLA (Core Knowledge Language Arts), and we are writing fictional stories. Mine’s about a kid who survives a volcano. I’m proud of it because I just like reading books a lot, and I like making my own ideas.
STUDENT LIFE & CULTURE:
What’s it like to be a student in your class?
In my class, there are so many nice friends, and everyone is so understanding. I feel really comfortable.
Describe the MICDS community in just a few words.
Kind, welcoming, and helpful.
If a new student walked onto campus today, what is the most important thing you want them to know about MICDS?
The most important thing I would want them to know is that everybody is welcome and there are lots of unique things that you’re able to do.
How easy or difficult was it to make friends when you first started here?
When I first started school here, I felt a little nervous, but once I got to know everyone’s names and had fun with them, I started getting comfortable.
What is your favorite tradition at this school and why?
My favorite tradition is the bonfire because it’s fun to watch the flames.
Meet Aubriel P. ‘35
Aubriel joined MICDS in Senior Kindergarten.
ACADEMICS & INVOLVEMENTS:
What is your favorite subject in school and why?
My favorite subjects are art, music, and math. In art, we always have our hands moving, and in music, we always play a lot of fun games and always have our bodies moving. For math, I feel like Ms. Mottl [Third Grade Homeroom Teacher] makes math so much.
What are you involved in outside of academics?
I play basketball. I also have a knitting business where I make knit blankets, and they each cost $25. I also do sewing.
What is your favorite time of day here?
I really like when we’re doing the math, and then after math, we have a special. Then we go out to recess. Then after recess, we have this literacy where we write informational books and poems, and we do that for an hour and thirty minutes—that’s probably my favorite part of the day.
What is the coolest project or assignment you’ve worked on this year?
The most exciting project I’ve worked on is when we did these things called Clay Pens in third grade. You take pens, you remove the ink and set that aside. Then you put clay on them however you want it to be. I made a little tiny ‘me’ hanging off. They’re fun because they use imagination and creativity.
STUDENT LIFE & CULTURE:
What’s it like to be a student in your class?
Everybody’s so nice to you, everybody helps you, and when you help them, they’ll help you. They’re so nice to you.
Describe the MICDS community in three words.
Kind, helpful, and welcoming.
If a new student walked onto campus today, what is the most important thing you want them to know about MICDS?
[I’d want them to know] that MICDS is a great place to be. Everybody here is super nice, and everybody would want to be your friend.
How easy or difficult was it to make friends when you first started here?
It was super easy because on the first day, I already made a friend. It was like within the first hour.
Who is a teacher who makes you feel truly known?
I like all my teachers, but the one who makes me feel really known the most is probably Ms. Mottl, my teacher right now.
Do you have a favorite teacher at MICDS?
I like Dr. Katy Nichols, Lower School Music Teacher, because she is super nice. She never yells or is mean; she’s always so nice.
What is your favorite tradition at this school and why?
I really like the pep rally because we’re all together. It’s so fun!
How have you changed since you first started at MICDS?
When I started school here, I only had one best friend and I was kind of a little shy. Now, I know almost everybody, and I have a lot of friends!
What advice would you give to a brand new Junior Kindergartener who is nervous about starting school here at MICDS?
Just imagine your parents are there with you, and act like your parents are right beside you. Don’t be shy. Be very open-minded.
Meet Alexander O. ‘34
Alexander joined MICDS in Senior Kindergarten.
ACADEMICS & INVOLVEMENTS:
What is your favorite subject in school and why?
It’s definitely between music and math. I love to sing—it’s definitely one of my favorite things to do, and our music teacher is really fun. And math is also fun. I love figuring out stuff.
What are you involved in outside of academics?
A lot of sports. I play baseball, soccer, and hockey. I go to a lot of birthday parties. After school, we go to a lot of activities.
What is your favorite time of day here?
Lunch, then math, then PE. Those two hours of the day are definitely my favorite.
What is the coolest project or assignment you’ve worked on this year?
This year, we’re doing student-parent-teacher conferences. I’m going to have to type a whole six slide [presentation] about how I’ve been doing this year. I feel like it’s going to be really fun!
STUDENT LIFE & CULTURE:
What’s it like to be a student in your class?
It’s really fun. Ms. Allison Antolik, Fourth Grade Homeroom Teacher, is definitely one of the nicest teachers.
Describe the MICDS community in just a few words.
Creative, crazy-loudish, and quiet.
If a new student walked onto campus today, what is the most important thing you want them to know about MICDS?
I would want to be their friend. I’d also tell them what we’re doing.
How easy or difficult was it to make friends when you first started here?
Honestly, I’m the kind of guy who would be on the playground and find a kid on the swing and say, “You want to see who can go down the slide the fastest?” Suddenly, I just found my people and made friends.
What is your favorite tradition at this school and why?
Snow days are really fun. I really like assemblies, especially the one after the fourth graders do the overnight, and I really like hearing about how that goes. This year, I get to do it. It looks and sounds really fun.
Meet Carmody W. ‘34
Carmody joined MICDS in Senior Kindergarten.
ACADEMICS & INVOLVEMENTS:
What is your favorite subject in school and why?
I really love social studies because it’s really advancing a lot, so I get to learn a lot of new things. We’re currently learning about when America broke off from Britain.
What are you involved in outside of academics?
I love doing tennis and volleyball; those are two things I’m really into, but whenever I have free time, I like to do some crocheting and play with my brother.
What is your favorite time of day here?
It’s usually after school in aftercare. It’s really cool because I get to connect with everybody in all the grades; it’s really nice. I like to hang out with everyone. It’s at the end of the day; some people get picked up and some people don’t [who go to aftercare]. You go outside in the playground, and you get to hang out with all the grades.
What is the coolest project or assignment you’ve worked on this year?
We were recreating the villages. We were going back in time to medieval times. I felt like we really got to create. We made a tower, and then we made the village.
STUDENT LIFE & CULTURE:
Describe the MICDS community in just a few words.
Inclusive, very caring, and always there for you.
If a new student walked onto campus today, what is the most important thing you want them to know about MICDS?
I want them to know that no matter what, you will always be able to make friends. We have a lot of new students that joined this year, and some of them were from really far away. We welcomed them, and it was really fun to have so many new faces.
How easy or difficult was it to make friends when you first started here?
I think it was easy. Whenever you’re younger, it’s really easy to make friends, but now when you’re older, it’s a bit harder. For me, personally, I’ve been able to make friends through the whole school year. I feel like I’ve made a lot of new friends.
What is your favorite tradition at this school and why?
The dragon dances; those are really cool. Or the bonfire and the games because you get to go out there, and you get to meet the high schoolers. It’s really fun!
Meet Kushal Z. ‘35
Kushal joined MICDS in Junior Kindergarten.
ACADEMICS & INVOLVEMENTS:
What is your favorite subject in school and why?
Science because I really like finding out stuff and learning new things.
What are you involved in outside of academics?
I play piano, and I play baseball, basketball, soccer, and swimming. Baseball is my favorite.
What is your favorite time of day here?
I think probably Shared Reading is my favorite time of day here because I’m really excited to finish Goldfish Boy and find out who did the crime.
What is the coolest project or assignment you’ve worked on this year?
I liked researching Mount Mitchell; it’s the biggest mountain in the Appalachian Mountains. I just like learning about geography.
STUDENT LIFE & CULTURE:
What’s it like to be a student in your class?
It’s pretty exciting, and I really like being in 3B. We get to do a lot of fun things.
Describe the MICDS community in three words.
Kind, courteous, and compassionate.
If a new student walked onto campus today, what is the most important thing you want them to know about MICDS?
You’re always welcome!
How easy or difficult was it to make friends when you first started here?
It was pretty easy because my sister’s friends have brothers in my grade.
What is your favorite tradition at this school and why?
Probably Bonfire because I just really like when they light the fire. It looks really cool, and it’s just really bright.
Thank you to these students for sharing their perspectives! Get to know more of our student stories throughout the Lower, Middle, and Upper Schools as shared on our Inside MICDS Blog!